Thursday, August 09, 2007
Common Sense Should Prevail
P.O.G.O
Pop belt - Open Window - Get Out
Florida leads the country in immersion drowning deaths. Their Highway Patrol and Dade County's Fire and Rescue point to the number of bodies that they have recovered in submerged vehicles belted in and window down as a good reason to take your seatbelt off first.
They have had this up on their website since 2001. http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/news/2001/pr031401.html
On this webpage, http://www.escapetip.com/ there is a video from a Florida news team where the reporter is completely briefed on how to exit a submerged vehicle still forgets his belt and has to be rescued. I’ve seen others. The reason is simple. People are people. Treating a housewife or accountant or bartender like a fighter pilot or police officer is not prudent. Let me explain. For the average person, going into the water in a car is going to come as a complete shock. At best, they’ve seen a news piece on it or read a story in a paper or magazine. Pilots and cops have been trained for this scenario. Joe and Jolene Average is best served by taking into account that their instincts are likely to be stronger than their intellect for the duration of this ordeal. Mr. or Ms. Professional will transition into a response ingrained by training might do well enough venting the water first to survive, fighting a potential gasp reflex, then undoing their belt and making their way out of a vehicle. For The Average family, this is not a good idea.
In my humble opinion, the best way for people to survive a vehicle immersion accident is to have a short, concise plan that they know how to put into action the instant the vehicle hits the water. Reminding someone to stay calm after their car has just careened into water may not be the best use of an action item. (the fewer steps that this plan has, the better it is according to university research)
POGO is real simple. A 2006 study by the University of Winnipeg reaffirms its efficacy and wisdom. During this study, the researchers performed nearly forty repetitions of a vehicle immersion and researched as much history from around the world on this issue as they could. Their conclusions were published in a comprehensive report that blamed some vehicle immersion deaths on multiple issues including; the mish mash of information available, the widely distributed advice to wait until the car fills with water (which as it turns out doesn’t work) the idea to use a cell to call for help, having a glass break device in a bad location, and there were other reasons as well. His full report suggests keeping glass break devices in obvious places in cars and using them immediately. On this page is a brief synopsis of some of his views http://www.albertarowing.ca/documents/GiesbrechtandWilkerson.asp Item 1 has a small blurb.
Here are some explanations of my views of a solution to this dangerous problem.
First, you should immediately unlatch your seatbelt and insure that everyone in the car does the same. Some experts disagree with me here. Their argument is that water coming into the cabin will toss you around the vehicle. They sometimes base their opinion on demonstrations done with huge aircraft water submersion trainers and the techniques taught to our nation’s military aviators and law enforcement professionals. Sometimes they are just accepting and forwarding what they heard thus dispensing their own conjecture. In reality, the average passenger car will take on less than 1000 cubic feet of water when completely full. The design of a car means that when the driver side window is displaced, Water will cascade over the top of the height of the body of the door and literally fall into the lap of the driver. In effect, the first few hundred gallons of water that enters the car will pin the driver in their seat. Then the flow will slow slightly until the car fills completely. The process will be quick but not too violent due to the relatively small amount of water needed to fill the compartment, the relatively small space the water must occupy, and the seats transmission humps, and other irregularities inside a vehicle interior that impede the smooth flow of water. At issue here is that the shape and characteristics of a car with a single side window missing is more akin to a soda bottle being held under water and filling up than a flower vase being held under water and filling up. A car, like a bottle, has to let air out of the same opening that water is rushing into. In relation to the size of the interior space of the vehicles passenger compartment, the opening provided by the window is small. This has a slight constricting effect on the amount of volume that can pass either direction (this is important because as water tries to get in, air is trying to escape.
Numerous videos show that the rate at which water enters the vehicle and the duration that it flows is not overwhelming at its worst. A vase has a large opening and when placed under water it fills immediately and with a large rush of water. This rush of water is the "picture" that some experts want to paint but it simply is not so. The last reason that the seatbelt comes off first is not so obvious. When the water hits you, you have a relatively small chance of experiencing a gasp reflex and aspirating water. In a second, you may be choking. In other scenarios the water may increase a sense of panic, still other immersion victims mah lose track of their conscious directives and start acting on instinct. (stranger things have happened when people face peril. In an instant a person is covered in water they want to, and should be leaving, not messing with a seatbelt. If for any reason, even if they are not choking, terrified, or drawing a complete mental blank, if the belt does not easily unlatch, then the true meaning of panic would be immediately apparent.
One individual actually made up his own acronym SOS GO even though POGO had been the accepted standard for quite some time. During all the chaos that currently surrounds defining the correct procedure to exit an immersed vehicle, this clunky and hard to remember acronym only served to add to the confusion (remember here that Dr. Giesbrecht’s research shows that confusion serves to get people killed also that his research clearly shows that popping the seatbelt first is the superior methodology). The only further thing I think that is worth mentioning about SOS GO if I have not been clear up to this point is that it advocates taking your belt off after breaking the window. I think you know my feelings on this. In the process he's trying to displace the standard POGO Pop Belt, Open window, Get Out. That has been the standard for years (remember the Florida firefighters and the people they find still buckled in with the windows down).
Although not mentioned here, there are some people that still advocate trying to open a door. This is not a good idea. The car will fill quickly with water causing it to sink too quickly. This is especially true if other people are in the car. A review of accidents over the past few decades illustrates that it is common for one person to get out and others to perish trapped in the vehicle. Parents have been implicated in killing their children because they got out first and could not get back in to save their kids. I wonder if the deck was stacked against them? Pressure differential could cause the door to close, trapping people inside or trapping loose clothing or hair. The now flooded vehicle is heading toward the bottom with these poor souls being taken along for the ride.
Did I mention that I feel you should pop your seatbelt, smash the side window, and get out of the vehicle as soon as possible and before the car goes under water. Speed is the key.
Some people report ad-nauseum that the electronic windows should work for a time after the car enters the water. Pinning your hopes to this idea will work for many people. For others, it may prove a death sentence. If the battery fails while the window is in mid travel, you now have a moderate volume pathway for water to enter the vehicle but an opening too small for the majority of occupants to exit safely. Ask every manufacturer to guarantee that their windows will continue to operate under water. Not a single yes will be forthcoming. The military spends a great deal of money and effort trying to isolate their electronics from water. The reason is simple; dirty water (water with any impurities) acts as a comprehensive conductor usually making an exposed circuit path invalid and usually defeating any switching properties of said circuit. Water dissipates the efficiency of a circuit and torque cannot be developed by an affected motor since an induction field can not form. When this occurs, said motor useless.
Many people still talk about the need to equalize pressure by letting the vehicle fill as a way making the door easy to open. Equalize the pressure is a last resort move. It does not always work; it exposes the occupant to peril and provides the least chance of success of surviving an immersion accident. In a way it's like CPR. It doesn't really work all that well but by this point, it's all we got left. Watch this Top gear video http://www.flixxy.com/escape-sinking-car.htm to see what I mean.
Other videos that I have seen, accident information that I've recorded, and reports that I've read, demonstrate that this tactic is wrought with danger. One needs to remember here that cars are full of air and because water has greater pressure than air, it will be difficult to open the door. Many still insist that as a primary tactic, one should let the car sink to equalize air and water pressure, it is thought that at this point, one should be able to open up the door or window. Should be able to, is still not good enough since over 16,000 people have died this way since 1960. Keep in mind that if there was ever an accident where Murphy and his laws will be waiting at every turn, a car crash into water has to qualify.
On TV, a safety expert checks with the safety divers, and the "victim before lowering a vehicle into the water at about .5 miles an hour. In real life it happens at 40 miles an hour in the blink of an eye. On TV, the vehicle is tested to insure the windows and doors work. In real life an impact with a guard rail deforms the door so the window can’t roll down all the way, or the fuse box blows. TV demonstrations are usually done in daylight at the docks. Real life accidents can happen at night in the tall reeds of a swamp. TV demos have rescue personnel standing by. Real life accidents require a seven minute response from the local responders and fifteen minutes to suit up for diver safety. TV reporters often do the exercise several times before they finally get it right. In real life, this is a PASS / FAIL or better put, PASS or DIE exam.
In the end, the best practice is to get free of all constraints and don’t encumber yourself with new constraints on the way out. Popping your belt, smashing your window and getting out gives you the best chance for success. It works the quickest which in the Canadian study directly correlates with success. In my opinion, every vehicle should have at least some simple glass break tools in all rows and they should be accessible to both sides of the vehicle. What if you were trapped in a car on fire and getting out on one side was better than the other? What if debris blocked one path? I’m ready to hear any and all opinions.
Thank you.
Pop belt - Open Window - Get Out
Florida leads the country in immersion drowning deaths. Their Highway Patrol and Dade County's Fire and Rescue point to the number of bodies that they have recovered in submerged vehicles belted in and window down as a good reason to take your seatbelt off first.
They have had this up on their website since 2001. http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/news/2001/pr031401.html
On this webpage, http://www.escapetip.com/ there is a video from a Florida news team where the reporter is completely briefed on how to exit a submerged vehicle still forgets his belt and has to be rescued. I’ve seen others. The reason is simple. People are people. Treating a housewife or accountant or bartender like a fighter pilot or police officer is not prudent. Let me explain. For the average person, going into the water in a car is going to come as a complete shock. At best, they’ve seen a news piece on it or read a story in a paper or magazine. Pilots and cops have been trained for this scenario. Joe and Jolene Average is best served by taking into account that their instincts are likely to be stronger than their intellect for the duration of this ordeal. Mr. or Ms. Professional will transition into a response ingrained by training might do well enough venting the water first to survive, fighting a potential gasp reflex, then undoing their belt and making their way out of a vehicle. For The Average family, this is not a good idea.
In my humble opinion, the best way for people to survive a vehicle immersion accident is to have a short, concise plan that they know how to put into action the instant the vehicle hits the water. Reminding someone to stay calm after their car has just careened into water may not be the best use of an action item. (the fewer steps that this plan has, the better it is according to university research)
POGO is real simple. A 2006 study by the University of Winnipeg reaffirms its efficacy and wisdom. During this study, the researchers performed nearly forty repetitions of a vehicle immersion and researched as much history from around the world on this issue as they could. Their conclusions were published in a comprehensive report that blamed some vehicle immersion deaths on multiple issues including; the mish mash of information available, the widely distributed advice to wait until the car fills with water (which as it turns out doesn’t work) the idea to use a cell to call for help, having a glass break device in a bad location, and there were other reasons as well. His full report suggests keeping glass break devices in obvious places in cars and using them immediately. On this page is a brief synopsis of some of his views http://www.albertarowing.ca/documents/GiesbrechtandWilkerson.asp Item 1 has a small blurb.
Here are some explanations of my views of a solution to this dangerous problem.
First, you should immediately unlatch your seatbelt and insure that everyone in the car does the same. Some experts disagree with me here. Their argument is that water coming into the cabin will toss you around the vehicle. They sometimes base their opinion on demonstrations done with huge aircraft water submersion trainers and the techniques taught to our nation’s military aviators and law enforcement professionals. Sometimes they are just accepting and forwarding what they heard thus dispensing their own conjecture. In reality, the average passenger car will take on less than 1000 cubic feet of water when completely full. The design of a car means that when the driver side window is displaced, Water will cascade over the top of the height of the body of the door and literally fall into the lap of the driver. In effect, the first few hundred gallons of water that enters the car will pin the driver in their seat. Then the flow will slow slightly until the car fills completely. The process will be quick but not too violent due to the relatively small amount of water needed to fill the compartment, the relatively small space the water must occupy, and the seats transmission humps, and other irregularities inside a vehicle interior that impede the smooth flow of water. At issue here is that the shape and characteristics of a car with a single side window missing is more akin to a soda bottle being held under water and filling up than a flower vase being held under water and filling up. A car, like a bottle, has to let air out of the same opening that water is rushing into. In relation to the size of the interior space of the vehicles passenger compartment, the opening provided by the window is small. This has a slight constricting effect on the amount of volume that can pass either direction (this is important because as water tries to get in, air is trying to escape.
Numerous videos show that the rate at which water enters the vehicle and the duration that it flows is not overwhelming at its worst. A vase has a large opening and when placed under water it fills immediately and with a large rush of water. This rush of water is the "picture" that some experts want to paint but it simply is not so. The last reason that the seatbelt comes off first is not so obvious. When the water hits you, you have a relatively small chance of experiencing a gasp reflex and aspirating water. In a second, you may be choking. In other scenarios the water may increase a sense of panic, still other immersion victims mah lose track of their conscious directives and start acting on instinct. (stranger things have happened when people face peril. In an instant a person is covered in water they want to, and should be leaving, not messing with a seatbelt. If for any reason, even if they are not choking, terrified, or drawing a complete mental blank, if the belt does not easily unlatch, then the true meaning of panic would be immediately apparent.
One individual actually made up his own acronym SOS GO even though POGO had been the accepted standard for quite some time. During all the chaos that currently surrounds defining the correct procedure to exit an immersed vehicle, this clunky and hard to remember acronym only served to add to the confusion (remember here that Dr. Giesbrecht’s research shows that confusion serves to get people killed also that his research clearly shows that popping the seatbelt first is the superior methodology). The only further thing I think that is worth mentioning about SOS GO if I have not been clear up to this point is that it advocates taking your belt off after breaking the window. I think you know my feelings on this. In the process he's trying to displace the standard POGO Pop Belt, Open window, Get Out. That has been the standard for years (remember the Florida firefighters and the people they find still buckled in with the windows down).
Although not mentioned here, there are some people that still advocate trying to open a door. This is not a good idea. The car will fill quickly with water causing it to sink too quickly. This is especially true if other people are in the car. A review of accidents over the past few decades illustrates that it is common for one person to get out and others to perish trapped in the vehicle. Parents have been implicated in killing their children because they got out first and could not get back in to save their kids. I wonder if the deck was stacked against them? Pressure differential could cause the door to close, trapping people inside or trapping loose clothing or hair. The now flooded vehicle is heading toward the bottom with these poor souls being taken along for the ride.
Did I mention that I feel you should pop your seatbelt, smash the side window, and get out of the vehicle as soon as possible and before the car goes under water. Speed is the key.
Some people report ad-nauseum that the electronic windows should work for a time after the car enters the water. Pinning your hopes to this idea will work for many people. For others, it may prove a death sentence. If the battery fails while the window is in mid travel, you now have a moderate volume pathway for water to enter the vehicle but an opening too small for the majority of occupants to exit safely. Ask every manufacturer to guarantee that their windows will continue to operate under water. Not a single yes will be forthcoming. The military spends a great deal of money and effort trying to isolate their electronics from water. The reason is simple; dirty water (water with any impurities) acts as a comprehensive conductor usually making an exposed circuit path invalid and usually defeating any switching properties of said circuit. Water dissipates the efficiency of a circuit and torque cannot be developed by an affected motor since an induction field can not form. When this occurs, said motor useless.
Many people still talk about the need to equalize pressure by letting the vehicle fill as a way making the door easy to open. Equalize the pressure is a last resort move. It does not always work; it exposes the occupant to peril and provides the least chance of success of surviving an immersion accident. In a way it's like CPR. It doesn't really work all that well but by this point, it's all we got left. Watch this Top gear video http://www.flixxy.com/escape-sinking-car.htm to see what I mean.
Other videos that I have seen, accident information that I've recorded, and reports that I've read, demonstrate that this tactic is wrought with danger. One needs to remember here that cars are full of air and because water has greater pressure than air, it will be difficult to open the door. Many still insist that as a primary tactic, one should let the car sink to equalize air and water pressure, it is thought that at this point, one should be able to open up the door or window. Should be able to, is still not good enough since over 16,000 people have died this way since 1960. Keep in mind that if there was ever an accident where Murphy and his laws will be waiting at every turn, a car crash into water has to qualify.
On TV, a safety expert checks with the safety divers, and the "victim before lowering a vehicle into the water at about .5 miles an hour. In real life it happens at 40 miles an hour in the blink of an eye. On TV, the vehicle is tested to insure the windows and doors work. In real life an impact with a guard rail deforms the door so the window can’t roll down all the way, or the fuse box blows. TV demonstrations are usually done in daylight at the docks. Real life accidents can happen at night in the tall reeds of a swamp. TV demos have rescue personnel standing by. Real life accidents require a seven minute response from the local responders and fifteen minutes to suit up for diver safety. TV reporters often do the exercise several times before they finally get it right. In real life, this is a PASS / FAIL or better put, PASS or DIE exam.
In the end, the best practice is to get free of all constraints and don’t encumber yourself with new constraints on the way out. Popping your belt, smashing your window and getting out gives you the best chance for success. It works the quickest which in the Canadian study directly correlates with success. In my opinion, every vehicle should have at least some simple glass break tools in all rows and they should be accessible to both sides of the vehicle. What if you were trapped in a car on fire and getting out on one side was better than the other? What if debris blocked one path? I’m ready to hear any and all opinions.
Thank you.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Minnesota Bridge Failure Highlights Vehicle Entrapment Drowning Issue
Minnesota Bridge Failure - I have been sending this piece to reporters and news teams covering the tragedy. I hope that someone takes note that I am addressing the ability to save thousands of lives in the coming years. If something good can result from this tragedy then these deaths would not be in vain.
What I'm about to share, not too many people know. I've shared this with hundreds of reporters. Few get the ramifications of what I share time and time again. I have seven years of research, numerous studies and reports, thousand of news stories from around the world, and U.S. government statistics (contact me through my website at www.escapetip.com and I'll walk you to the web site that has the stats). These statistics tell the ongoing story of needless death and suffering over the past seventy (70) years. The first case of vehicle entrapment drowning that I know of happened around the time of the great depression. (I'll give you the names of the people that died in that accident) Over the last fifty years, around fifteen thousand people have perished due to vehicle entrapment drowning according to numerous sources.
It is probable that some of the people that died at the I-35W bridge collapse were trapped inside their car with no other, or minor injuries. They tried their doors and they would not open. They tried their windows, and they would not open. Their vehicles filled with water. As they tried their windows again, the water rose. As they pulled furiously on the door handles the water rose. These people followed the ever shrinking air bubble until it was gone. They died, minutes later. Think of what went through their minds as their fate became clear to them.
Some of these people may have been able to break the glass and made their way out. This fact is irrefutable. It happens too often to be ignored. Every year, people escape vehicle entrapment drowning by breaking glass and exiting their vehicle. Every year, people are saved by Good Samaritans that when unable to open the door, grab a rock, bar, or hammer to break the glass and as a result, save lives. Too many experts say that this is the best method to save your own life if trapped in a vehicle under water to discount this solution.
Hundreds of people have died due to bridge failures in decades past. Many were found trapped in their cars under water. There are too many reasons to list as to why cars end up in the water. It's safe to say that as long as cars drive near water their will be accidents like this. Some will say that the solution is more guardrails. Millions have been spent in Florida and lives have been saved. Unfortunately, cars have already jumped those rails and lives have been lost. What amount of money would be needed to put rails around every body of water in the country? Probably trillions.
A reasonable response is to put a group of glass break devices in every car made. The solution at www.escapetip.com would cost pocket change per vehicle. The advantages of this solution are that it would be;
*Low cost
*Easy to understand
*Easy to use
*Available to all passengers in all rows of the vehicle
*Located in the same place in all vehicles made
*Redundant at multiple locations
*Usable at windows throughout the vehicle
*Not easily lost
*Noticeable if missing
*Occupant decides when to break glass
*Requires occupant to remove seatbelt BEFORE breaking the glass
*Same proven technology that military used to escape aircraft cockpits
In the past seven years I have waded through stories about WalMart, MicroSoft, Ford, Dell,and on and on while being told that this story is an advertisement for a product. MY ANSWER NEVER WAIVERS! Tell the story of the problem and the people will win in the end as the government investigates the vehicle entrapment drowning issue. People will survive accidents like this If they can get out of the vehicle. The dead need a voice to stop this needless and unending trail of tragedy.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Yesterday...
Yesterday marked the twenty third year gone by since the passing of famed television journalist Jessica Savitch. A tough and gritty newswoman, Savitch was a passenger in a stationwagon with her beloved dog "Chewy" when the driver got lost and ended up in the old Deleware Canal near New Hope, PA. When her body was discovered, it was clear that she had been fighting to escape the vehicle.
Nearly 10,000 more souls have been lost since that day. What is it going to take...
Jessica Savitch, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessica_Savitch&oldid=109784657 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Monday, October 23, 2006
WAITING MEANS DEATH!
.jpg)
The video that I have given a link to below should be the end all as far as discussions go about how to escape a sinking car. I, as well as other people close to this issue, have agreed for years that WAITING MEANS DEATH! I have tried to get people to listen to no avail. The same stories keep getting churned out that give people information that not only decreases their chance of survival but actually increases their chance of dying. All the major networks have run this story with this bad information included in their pieces. Several times, I have spoken to the reporters and producers at length before their segment. THEY RUN THE PIECE ANYWAY! It is time for this to stop. The problem is well documented. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA has documented over 3700 vehicle immersion deaths since 1994.
A Canadian study that I have recently read bears out the awful truth of what I just asserted and gives the absolute best advice that I have ever seen to date on what needs to happen in order to escape a vehicle once it enters the water. It was researched by Dr. Giesbrecht at the University of Manitoba. The high points of their findings include the fact that in all their research;
· the longer that an individual stayed with a vehicle,
· the deeper that a car went into the water,
· the more the vehicle was allowed to fill before people exited,
THE OCCURANCE OF DEATH AS THE RESULT WAS INCREASED!!!
Check out this video and see for yourself that what I’m saying here seems plausible. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yADmpA1XFvw
Since we began this quest to make cars just a little safer, thousands of people have died trapped in their cars under water. Many of these people could have lived. We know this because;
· There have been witnesses that have seen them fighting to get out.
· There have been Good Samaritans that tried and failed to get people out of a vehicle and saw them fighting to escape as they sank.
· There have been Good Samaritans that have succeeded in freeing people who in turn swear if not for the brave actions of their rescuer, they would have perished.
· There have been cell phone calls to 911 and loved ones when recorded, or retold, convey the fear and helplessness that fills those final seconds of life.
There is a way to help out in the vast majority of these types of accidents. It is called the Escape Tip. The website is at http://www.escapetip.com/ . I show it above as a picture so that anyone can see how simple its addition to a vehicle could be.
At this point I want to point out that no matter what anyone else says, there will be accidents that happen where people would have benefited from the addition of the Escape Tip to their vehicle. Experts will say that the electric doors and windows should work. But they won’t every time and people will die. Experts will say that the pressure should equalize allowing the door to open but it won’t every time and people will die. (As we can see from the Top Gear video, THESE experts are wrong.)
Experts and people calling themselves experts will say all sorts of things, but in the end, who wouldn’t feel safer having a little addition costing pocket change to speed the process of exiting a vehicle should a car end up in the water or on fire, or should the battery die, or should the driver hit the “all lock” buttons for the door or windows, or any other event that might lock people in a vehicle and lead to injury or death?
Egression Technologies has a list of vehicle safety advantages concerning the installation of the Escape Tip Automotive Safety device.
· Escape Tip is the only current concept that insures that the seatbelt is unlatched before the occupant can smash the glass. Staying belted in as the water comes in is bad advice. If it takes to long to undo a belt once the water fills the car it could be deadly advice. Too many rescue professionals have stories of unbelting corpses after a vehicle is recovered from water.
· Available from all seating positions. Multiple units through the vehicle. All occupants have access to one or more even in a 15 passenger van. Occupants can choose what window to break to exit. If something has incapacitated the person or people in the front seat, people in the back have a way out. If the master window and door locks are engaged, this is especially critical.
· In the same place across all model lines and in all manufacturers products. Occupants will know what to do and where the tool is located even in a strange vehicle. Occupant will be able to find tool in the dark or in murky water. Good solution for blind occupants who could depend on the consistency of location of the Escape Tip.
· Device is a simple mechanical application. No complex mechanical assembly to malfunction. No powered system can fail. The device can’t “go off” unexpectedly.
· Always located in an obvious place. Not hidden, not locked away in a glove box or under the seat. You’ll know you have it and where it is.
· Can’t get misplaced, or be dropped all the way to the floor when you need it most.
· Can’t be easily removed from the vehicle without occupants noticing.
The Escape Tip is a cost effective, practical, reasonable response to the issue of vehicle immersion drowning. Other ideas don’t feature all the benefits that are inherent in the design, application and location of the Escape Tip. In North America, 400 people die each and every year trapped in their vehicles under water. What do you think should be the next step?
A Canadian study that I have recently read bears out the awful truth of what I just asserted and gives the absolute best advice that I have ever seen to date on what needs to happen in order to escape a vehicle once it enters the water. It was researched by Dr. Giesbrecht at the University of Manitoba. The high points of their findings include the fact that in all their research;
· the longer that an individual stayed with a vehicle,
· the deeper that a car went into the water,
· the more the vehicle was allowed to fill before people exited,
THE OCCURANCE OF DEATH AS THE RESULT WAS INCREASED!!!
Check out this video and see for yourself that what I’m saying here seems plausible. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yADmpA1XFvw
Since we began this quest to make cars just a little safer, thousands of people have died trapped in their cars under water. Many of these people could have lived. We know this because;
· There have been witnesses that have seen them fighting to get out.
· There have been Good Samaritans that tried and failed to get people out of a vehicle and saw them fighting to escape as they sank.
· There have been Good Samaritans that have succeeded in freeing people who in turn swear if not for the brave actions of their rescuer, they would have perished.
· There have been cell phone calls to 911 and loved ones when recorded, or retold, convey the fear and helplessness that fills those final seconds of life.
There is a way to help out in the vast majority of these types of accidents. It is called the Escape Tip. The website is at http://www.escapetip.com/ . I show it above as a picture so that anyone can see how simple its addition to a vehicle could be.
At this point I want to point out that no matter what anyone else says, there will be accidents that happen where people would have benefited from the addition of the Escape Tip to their vehicle. Experts will say that the electric doors and windows should work. But they won’t every time and people will die. Experts will say that the pressure should equalize allowing the door to open but it won’t every time and people will die. (As we can see from the Top Gear video, THESE experts are wrong.)
Experts and people calling themselves experts will say all sorts of things, but in the end, who wouldn’t feel safer having a little addition costing pocket change to speed the process of exiting a vehicle should a car end up in the water or on fire, or should the battery die, or should the driver hit the “all lock” buttons for the door or windows, or any other event that might lock people in a vehicle and lead to injury or death?
Egression Technologies has a list of vehicle safety advantages concerning the installation of the Escape Tip Automotive Safety device.
· Escape Tip is the only current concept that insures that the seatbelt is unlatched before the occupant can smash the glass. Staying belted in as the water comes in is bad advice. If it takes to long to undo a belt once the water fills the car it could be deadly advice. Too many rescue professionals have stories of unbelting corpses after a vehicle is recovered from water.
· Available from all seating positions. Multiple units through the vehicle. All occupants have access to one or more even in a 15 passenger van. Occupants can choose what window to break to exit. If something has incapacitated the person or people in the front seat, people in the back have a way out. If the master window and door locks are engaged, this is especially critical.
· In the same place across all model lines and in all manufacturers products. Occupants will know what to do and where the tool is located even in a strange vehicle. Occupant will be able to find tool in the dark or in murky water. Good solution for blind occupants who could depend on the consistency of location of the Escape Tip.
· Device is a simple mechanical application. No complex mechanical assembly to malfunction. No powered system can fail. The device can’t “go off” unexpectedly.
· Always located in an obvious place. Not hidden, not locked away in a glove box or under the seat. You’ll know you have it and where it is.
· Can’t get misplaced, or be dropped all the way to the floor when you need it most.
· Can’t be easily removed from the vehicle without occupants noticing.
The Escape Tip is a cost effective, practical, reasonable response to the issue of vehicle immersion drowning. Other ideas don’t feature all the benefits that are inherent in the design, application and location of the Escape Tip. In North America, 400 people die each and every year trapped in their vehicles under water. What do you think should be the next step?
Escape tip, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Escape_tip&oldid=93770220 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Labels: NHTSA
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Susan Koeppen; If only I could have gotten to her sooner...
The link at the bottom will take you to a CBS story on vehicle immersion drowning. I’m sorry that I did not find it sooner. CBS credited a reporter named Smith with the story so I did not see it under Susan Koeppen’s name in Contributors section of the CBS Morning Show’s web page. I had heard that Ms. Koeppen was doing a story, but, I was unable to reach her in time to make a difference. Twisted irony that so many people continue to die because we are too late to make a difference. We were only made aware of the fact that the story had already aired recently. This story is poignant because Ms. Koeppen does a great job of showing the terror and panic that can overcome a person as she actually experienced the sensation firsthand in an elaborate aircraft simulator.
NOTES AND COMMENTS ON THE PIECE:
· The first time the reporter is immersed in water, panic obviously takes over. She’s still moving and fighting, just not effectively. Since she’s trapped, her mind seems to lose focus as to what to do next. She seems to know that she has to pull herself out, it’s just that when she realizes she can’t she seems to freeze. At that instant, she was living a terror that precedes three hundred deaths a year. Ms. Koeppens’s reaction here is completely normal. Experts tell us that during times when a person encounters the stresses of a serious danger, and especially when it’s for the first time, they are the least likely to effectively deal with those stresses and dangers. In these instances instinct takes over if no other training intercedes in their thought process. A person’s “fight or flight” reflex backed with adrenaline kicks in and can help them battle their way to the best possible outcome. In the case of vehicle immersion incidents that best possible outcome is making it to the surface. The only thing standing in their way in these cases are the windows and seatbelts restraining them. Our opinion is that used correctly, this natural function of the bodies Sympathetic Response System which is part of the Autonomic Nervous System can be utilized in a positive way. If people unlatch their seatbelt immediately after the main impetus of the accident is over and smash the window (which experts say is an action that is intuitively obvious) venting an escape route as soon as is practical, climbing out is a primitive instinct.
· The reporter cannot operate the seatbelt her first time down. This is important because for the vast majority of drivers and occupants of a vehicle that experience this type of accident, it will be their first time. The stakes are life and death. I find it odd that even though Ms. Koeppen was stuck and admitted that without the divers she was in trouble, she reports exactly what her expert said which is that it is best to leave the seatbelt on. Despite her own experience, she reports this without questioning it. It is Egression technologies’ opinion that the "keep the Seatbelt on" advice is rarely, if ever, the best idea in civilian accidents for several reasons.
1. Most experienced rescue experts in the country say to pop the belt first. Only a small minority of training professionals seem to clouding the issue with the stay strapped in idea
2. Unlike professional soldiers and pilots that train and train, for the average person this life and death scenario will happen without a dress rehearsal and without warning. A person free from any restraint in the car is ready to leave or be rescued. Keeping them strapped in under water invites disaster.
3. Cars have relatively small windows and comparatively large cabins. Anyone who has ever held a soda bottle under water can attest that water only goes in at a rate that matches the rate in which air escapes. This observable fact dramatically shows that the water flow is greatly restricted by the relatively small opening. In the small number of case that water floods in, it’s over in a split second as the cabin has a limited volume and pressure equalizes quickly.
4. Leaving the seatbelt strapped on so that water will not jostle an occupant as it comes in implies that a person is waiting for the vehicle to get to a point that this situation is applicable. The latest advice coming out of rescue camps is get unbuckled and get out quickly breaking the glass if necessary. Their irreproachable logic is that you are closer to the surface, closer to the shore, and closer to your point of entry which is where any potential rescuers are likely to congregate.
5. The risk of panic, disorientation, minimal lighting and the inability to operate a seatbelt under stress all outweigh the minor benefits of keeping it on. Top Florida firefighters tell us again and again the stories of finding people that have died strapped in by their seatbelts with the windows down. NBC Dateline featured this phenomenon in a story that they did a few years ago. The message is clear. Get the seatbelt off right away. Sharon Stone had the fright of her life and vowed to put escape hammers in all of her vehicles. She went on to say she thinks some type of device should me mandated in all vehicles.
One thing to keep in mind watching this story is that Ms. Koeppen went to a pilot training center for advice on how to help an average citizen survive this type of automobile accident. I applaud the effort and much of the information but wish that in the course of researching her story, she’d had the opportunity to come across Egression Technologies and the Escape Tip. Here, all we deal with is auto accidents causing entrapment and the ramifications therein. Pilots train for this type of accident. They are people cut from a different cloth. The people that train them have a perspective on automobile accidents that is just a little different than the rescue divers, police officers, and fire fighters that we talk to. We converse with the professionals in the trenches that for five decades have been recovering the bodies of victims that have drowned trapped inside their vehicles. Their advice is, and continues to be, POGO Pop the seatbelt. Open the door or window (This is where the Escape Tip comes in. The Escape Tip used correctly WILL open the window.) Get Out. (Remember the KISS theory, Keep*It*Simple*Stupid)
Reporters across the country continue to lead with the hammer when doing these types of stories. If they could only find the Escape Tip in their research before they go on the air, we could show them the way to really make people safer. The hammer is to immersion safety what the Model T was to transportation. It was a great first step. Today we simply know how to do it better;
1. Build the tool into the vehicle so that every car has one
2. Insure that the seatbelt is off before the tool is utilized to break the glass so a person can leave immediately. (Susan’s reaction to being dunked the first time is all the proof you need that being held back by a belt spells danger)
3. make sure there are enough tools for everyone not just one person in the front seat (would any car manufacturer really want to start installing between two and ten of these hammers in their décor or simply change the design of the already installed seatbelt?)
4. make it easy to find
5. make it hard to remove or misplace
6. Make it so that if you fumble it, it doesn’t fall all the way to the floor or under a seat.
7. put the tool in the same location in all vehicle makes and models so that people have the maximum chance to save their own life
8. Make the tool operate the same way in all vehicle makes and models so that people have the maximum chance to save their own life
There are more reasons but you get the idea. It is obvious by the list above, that there is a viable solution to the immersion drowning problem. It mirrors the FMVSS 401 the trunk latch release standard in that it is a simple, cheap, easy to use and a sensible solution. The two devices share reason one and reasons four through eight from the list above. FMVSS 401 sets the standard which we continue to chase in our effort to make vehicles safer.
I’ll keep trying to reach reporters before they file immersion drowning stories as I’m sure, that faced with the obviousness of the information that we present, any quality reporter that is interested in truth rather than any other consideration will tell this story. With luck, one will finally break this story on a national basis. Hopefully, it will be someone intelligent with conviction that will really get the point across. That is what captures people’s interest and makes government act. Unfortunately, this mythical reporter probably could have been Susan Koeppen if only I could have gotten our information to her or her producer before she reported on this danger. She seems bright, concerned and as a mother, I would think she’d want to help actually help fix this problem rather that just perform for ratings by showing the country another dunk and danger piece. We all know that there are already enough reporters out there that fit this bill.
Keep in mind moving forward, that the thousands of hours of research that we’ve put together as well as the police and fire officials that we have interviewed give us a unique perspective on vehicle immersion accidents. It’s quite possible that we have more insight and information on this unique type of accident than any other private entity in the world. It is an absolute shame because of our relatively small size and limited exposure that these news agencies can’t seem to find us to fine tune the information that they are giving the public. It is a reality check to realize that since Susan Koeppen’s story, over seventy five people have died trapped in their vehicles. Maybe the next Susan Koeppen will find us before they post a story or just maybe Susan Koeppen will find us and post again with a story that can help enact change.
Please watch the video. It’s only four minutes long.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=1326525n
NOTES AND COMMENTS ON THE PIECE:
· The first time the reporter is immersed in water, panic obviously takes over. She’s still moving and fighting, just not effectively. Since she’s trapped, her mind seems to lose focus as to what to do next. She seems to know that she has to pull herself out, it’s just that when she realizes she can’t she seems to freeze. At that instant, she was living a terror that precedes three hundred deaths a year. Ms. Koeppens’s reaction here is completely normal. Experts tell us that during times when a person encounters the stresses of a serious danger, and especially when it’s for the first time, they are the least likely to effectively deal with those stresses and dangers. In these instances instinct takes over if no other training intercedes in their thought process. A person’s “fight or flight” reflex backed with adrenaline kicks in and can help them battle their way to the best possible outcome. In the case of vehicle immersion incidents that best possible outcome is making it to the surface. The only thing standing in their way in these cases are the windows and seatbelts restraining them. Our opinion is that used correctly, this natural function of the bodies Sympathetic Response System which is part of the Autonomic Nervous System can be utilized in a positive way. If people unlatch their seatbelt immediately after the main impetus of the accident is over and smash the window (which experts say is an action that is intuitively obvious) venting an escape route as soon as is practical, climbing out is a primitive instinct.
· The reporter cannot operate the seatbelt her first time down. This is important because for the vast majority of drivers and occupants of a vehicle that experience this type of accident, it will be their first time. The stakes are life and death. I find it odd that even though Ms. Koeppen was stuck and admitted that without the divers she was in trouble, she reports exactly what her expert said which is that it is best to leave the seatbelt on. Despite her own experience, she reports this without questioning it. It is Egression technologies’ opinion that the "keep the Seatbelt on" advice is rarely, if ever, the best idea in civilian accidents for several reasons.
1. Most experienced rescue experts in the country say to pop the belt first. Only a small minority of training professionals seem to clouding the issue with the stay strapped in idea
2. Unlike professional soldiers and pilots that train and train, for the average person this life and death scenario will happen without a dress rehearsal and without warning. A person free from any restraint in the car is ready to leave or be rescued. Keeping them strapped in under water invites disaster.
3. Cars have relatively small windows and comparatively large cabins. Anyone who has ever held a soda bottle under water can attest that water only goes in at a rate that matches the rate in which air escapes. This observable fact dramatically shows that the water flow is greatly restricted by the relatively small opening. In the small number of case that water floods in, it’s over in a split second as the cabin has a limited volume and pressure equalizes quickly.
4. Leaving the seatbelt strapped on so that water will not jostle an occupant as it comes in implies that a person is waiting for the vehicle to get to a point that this situation is applicable. The latest advice coming out of rescue camps is get unbuckled and get out quickly breaking the glass if necessary. Their irreproachable logic is that you are closer to the surface, closer to the shore, and closer to your point of entry which is where any potential rescuers are likely to congregate.
5. The risk of panic, disorientation, minimal lighting and the inability to operate a seatbelt under stress all outweigh the minor benefits of keeping it on. Top Florida firefighters tell us again and again the stories of finding people that have died strapped in by their seatbelts with the windows down. NBC Dateline featured this phenomenon in a story that they did a few years ago. The message is clear. Get the seatbelt off right away. Sharon Stone had the fright of her life and vowed to put escape hammers in all of her vehicles. She went on to say she thinks some type of device should me mandated in all vehicles.
One thing to keep in mind watching this story is that Ms. Koeppen went to a pilot training center for advice on how to help an average citizen survive this type of automobile accident. I applaud the effort and much of the information but wish that in the course of researching her story, she’d had the opportunity to come across Egression Technologies and the Escape Tip. Here, all we deal with is auto accidents causing entrapment and the ramifications therein. Pilots train for this type of accident. They are people cut from a different cloth. The people that train them have a perspective on automobile accidents that is just a little different than the rescue divers, police officers, and fire fighters that we talk to. We converse with the professionals in the trenches that for five decades have been recovering the bodies of victims that have drowned trapped inside their vehicles. Their advice is, and continues to be, POGO Pop the seatbelt. Open the door or window (This is where the Escape Tip comes in. The Escape Tip used correctly WILL open the window.) Get Out. (Remember the KISS theory, Keep*It*Simple*Stupid)
Reporters across the country continue to lead with the hammer when doing these types of stories. If they could only find the Escape Tip in their research before they go on the air, we could show them the way to really make people safer. The hammer is to immersion safety what the Model T was to transportation. It was a great first step. Today we simply know how to do it better;
1. Build the tool into the vehicle so that every car has one
2. Insure that the seatbelt is off before the tool is utilized to break the glass so a person can leave immediately. (Susan’s reaction to being dunked the first time is all the proof you need that being held back by a belt spells danger)
3. make sure there are enough tools for everyone not just one person in the front seat (would any car manufacturer really want to start installing between two and ten of these hammers in their décor or simply change the design of the already installed seatbelt?)
4. make it easy to find
5. make it hard to remove or misplace
6. Make it so that if you fumble it, it doesn’t fall all the way to the floor or under a seat.
7. put the tool in the same location in all vehicle makes and models so that people have the maximum chance to save their own life
8. Make the tool operate the same way in all vehicle makes and models so that people have the maximum chance to save their own life
There are more reasons but you get the idea. It is obvious by the list above, that there is a viable solution to the immersion drowning problem. It mirrors the FMVSS 401 the trunk latch release standard in that it is a simple, cheap, easy to use and a sensible solution. The two devices share reason one and reasons four through eight from the list above. FMVSS 401 sets the standard which we continue to chase in our effort to make vehicles safer.
I’ll keep trying to reach reporters before they file immersion drowning stories as I’m sure, that faced with the obviousness of the information that we present, any quality reporter that is interested in truth rather than any other consideration will tell this story. With luck, one will finally break this story on a national basis. Hopefully, it will be someone intelligent with conviction that will really get the point across. That is what captures people’s interest and makes government act. Unfortunately, this mythical reporter probably could have been Susan Koeppen if only I could have gotten our information to her or her producer before she reported on this danger. She seems bright, concerned and as a mother, I would think she’d want to help actually help fix this problem rather that just perform for ratings by showing the country another dunk and danger piece. We all know that there are already enough reporters out there that fit this bill.
Keep in mind moving forward, that the thousands of hours of research that we’ve put together as well as the police and fire officials that we have interviewed give us a unique perspective on vehicle immersion accidents. It’s quite possible that we have more insight and information on this unique type of accident than any other private entity in the world. It is an absolute shame because of our relatively small size and limited exposure that these news agencies can’t seem to find us to fine tune the information that they are giving the public. It is a reality check to realize that since Susan Koeppen’s story, over seventy five people have died trapped in their vehicles. Maybe the next Susan Koeppen will find us before they post a story or just maybe Susan Koeppen will find us and post again with a story that can help enact change.
Please watch the video. It’s only four minutes long.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=1326525n
The Early Show, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Early_Show&oldid=111067513 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Thursday, May 04, 2006
To me this seems obvious
July 3, 1929, Blanche and Russell Warren are traveling on a road that is now U.S. 101 in their 1927 Chevrolet. The Warrens went missing that day. No one knew at the time, that they had gone into a nearby lake in their 1927 Chevrolet. Perhaps they missed a curve or fell asleep. They were not found for 72 years. I have discovered in my research many stories that tell of bodies found underwater inside vehicles days, weeks, months, years, and even decades after they went missing. Cory Erving, the son of NBA basketball legend Julius Erving, AKA “Dr. J” went missing for six weeks in the summer of 2000 after leaving the family home to purchase a loaf of bread. Cory’s disappearance prompted all kinds of speculation including kidnapping theories. The Erving family offered rewards for his safe return or information of his whereabouts. Cory’s body was found in his car under water on July 6th of that year. http://obits.com/ervingcory.html
In 1961 a study conducted by the Michigan State police and Indiana University concluded that 400 people a year died trapped in their vehicles under water in North America. It has been 45 years since that story. The numbers remain about the same year after year.
Online, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, posts statistics it collects through its Fatality Analysis Reporting System or FARS website. Currently available online is data dating back to 1994. According to FARS, since 1994, an average of 300 people have died due to vehicle immersion drowning in this country every year. All tolled, in North America, every year for the past forty years, more than 300 people a year have perished trapped in their cars underwater.
It is apparent, that since the passenger compartment of the automobile was first enclosed, tens of thousands of people worldwide have died because they couldn’t escape their vehicle as it slipped beneath the surface of a lake, or river, or canal, or swimming pool or any body of water that will allow a vehicle to completely submerge. In many unfortunate situations, people have drowned in water that they could stand in. Florida holds the distinction of having more vehicle immersion deaths than any other state in the country. A recent news article featured the Delray Beach Fire Department’s Water Rescue Team. In the story, the reporter noted that since its inception in 1988, the team has responded to around 15 calls a year where a car is completely submerged in water with someone trapped inside. In 2006 the first person was pulled out alive. This stark detail shows that it is nearly impossible for emergency services to get to an accident of this nature in time to save a life. The responsibility to get out must lie with the occupants of the vehicle.
The sad part of all of this is that there is an abundance of available evidence that readily establishes that this is an extremely survivable accident most of the time. In higher speed accidents where a vehicle goes into the water, the vehicle bears the brunt of any impact in a way that isolates the occupants from serious injury. The water decelerates said vehicle instead of causing an abrupt stop. Occupants are often very fit to enact their own self rescue. As it turns out, this is a surprisingly simple procedure. Exit the vehicle and swim to safety. The one thing that is sure to prevent success is the inability to exit the vehicle.
Interestingly enough, in a surprising number of cases, vehicles enter the water at a relatively low speed. These accidents are sometimes the result of people making a wrong decision to enter a body of water, making a wrong turn, putting a vehicle in the wrong gear or other reasons that cause relatively benign, trauma free accidents.
Regardless of the methodology that puts a vehicle in the water, it is well established that a high number of these vehicle immersion accidents are survivable due to the number of people that are seen trying to escape entrapment by beating on the glass. These stories are often shared again and again by witnesses that are incapable of helping. Another survivability indicator is the percentage of bodies that are found in the very back part of the vehicle. This is relevant because in most cases an engine pushes the front end of the vehicle down which causes an air bubble to rise and settle toward the now elevated rear of the vehicle. People that can’t break out of the sinking car follow the air pocket until it is all gone or polluted to the point that it can no longer sustain life. Few people realize that fluids in the engine compartment that are lighter than water make their way into the passenger compartment through holes in the floorboard making the air unbreathable.
Despite the previous two explanations, the main reason that we know with absolute certainty, that in most cases this is a survivable accident is the fact that an estimated ten thousand vehicles a year end up in the water. Other than the approximately three hundred tragedies a year where the victims die, everyone else survives. It appears that the main difference between the people that live and those that die is an occupant’s ability to exit a vehicle.
Technology has lead to some painful consequences regarding vehicle immersion drowning. In all too many recent accidents, people have had time to call loved ones or rescue services on their cell phone. The calls have run the gamut from remorseful farewells from people that have conceded their fate knowing full well that no one can get there in time to hysterical pleading from people terrified of the fate that they realize awaits them. One interesting call from a KCBS radio reporter from San Francisco named Doug Sovern went unanswered for nearly twenty minutes. Doug, while sinking ever further into the water was put on hold. As water filled the passenger compartment, Doug listened to a recording. Doug’s call was to 911. In the end, he found a resource that allowed him to save himself http://www.escapetip.blogspot.com/ (scroll down to “Against all Odds”) He got out by breaking the glass.
Over the years, I’ve documented the deaths of infants to seniors, ordinary people to government officials. I’ve recorded anomalies like the family that stopped to look at the lake Susan Smith used to drown her children only to roll into the water themselves, become trapped, and die. Some stories touched me like the one about a young United States Marine named Ryan Zimmerman who was just going to be at home on leave for a few days over the holidays. This homecoming turned out to be his last http://www.escapetip.blogspot.com/ (scroll down to the story that features his name in the title.) A story of Sharon Stone’s near tragedy on the set of a movie, reminded me that no one is immune. My thoughts sometimes wander to the loss of a Doctor named Karen Gilhooly from Michigan. Karen was driving her daughter along with two of the child’s dearest friends to a dance performance. In the dark of night she made one wrong turn and slipped into the water. She was probably traveling a five miles an hour as she entered the water. Too late she realized something was wrong and tried to back out. We know this because her car was recovered with the transmission in reverse. Three families shattered because of a right turn when she needed a left. I can only imagine happenings inside the car as the realization set in that nothing could be done. Like so many accidents that I have chronicled, this was not the first vehicle submersion death at this location.
In the years that I have been doing this, I have seen a full spectrum of ideas to combat this problem. In Florida, tens of millions of dollars are being spent to erect barriers to stop this problem. Since the barriers have been going up, I still record stories of death in Florida. I’ve seen where a vehicle went over the barrier and ended up in the water anyway as well as vehicles that went into the water in locations where no barriers stand. Barriers are expensive, restrictive, ugly and present a false sense of security. There is no doubt that they will save lives but at what cost?
I’ve seen all kinds of ideas for new and improved systems to be added to vehicles to combat this issue. One system suggested huge airbags deploy to keep the vehicle afloat. A second system that I had to question was one that rolled all of the windows down if a vehicle was submerging. I had to wonder what a parent with several kids would do as water came rushing in and their kids were strapped through three rows of a minivan. I’ve seen automatic this, and automatic that and new and improved this and new and improved that and on, and on, and on….
Looking at many of these solutions, I am reminded of the space shuttle program. The best of intentions, billions of dollars in the world’s most sophisticated equipment, and a legacy marred by an “O” ring costing a few bucks. I’m reminded of the Crown Victoria. This car had a single weakness exposed do to the fact that when used for police work, cars are sometime rear ended at high speed causing violent crashes that in these cases ignited fuel. I’m reminded that sometimes ferry doors don’t seal causing them to flood and the boat sinks. I’m reminded that engines are known to fall of airplanes on occasion and even in modern warfare there are still friendly fire incidents. All this leads anyone like me with average intelligence to conclude that despite the very best of intentions, systems sometimes fail. In an automobile, if the failed system is a luxury like air conditioning, the result is an inconvenience. If a safety system fails, it could spell a trip to the hospital or morgue.
In the end, It has amazed me that a simple, practical, effective, inexpensive way to give people that are ready and able to break out of a vehicle, the means to do so has been so thoroughly disregarded. I’m confounded that a solution that could be immediately made available to start saving lives has been ignored while experts strain to perfect systems that would cost markedly more money.
The solution that I talk about is called the Escape Tip™. It is a tiny, unobtrusive addition to the male end or latch plate of a seatbelt assembly. In hundreds of tests, several performed under the watchful eye of television news coverage, the Escape Tip™ has not failed once. http://www.escapetip.com/ (click on the videos on the main page.) This straightforward idea conforms to a wisdom hard gained over the years that if you want something done right, do it yourself. Statistics prove beyond all doubt that this is especially applicable in vehicle immersion accidents. How many people truly want to put their faith 100% into an automatic system to save their lives without at least a solid back up that allows them to get themselves out if “all else fails”. Most drivers trust their steel belted radial tires but still keep a spare “just in case”. At a hotel, I always take an elevator when I want to get up to my room and down to the lobby and yet I really appreciate the fact that the stairs are there “just in case”. Airborne soldiers can go their whole jump career deploying only the main parachute but, they all wear the reserve “just in case” Who can deny that the KISS theory or Keep It Simple Stupid is based on years and years of trial and error? I think that the Escape Tip™ is a simple, effective, and inexpensive proposition for a problem that has proven a persistent killer for more than half a century. I think that pushing the envelope of auto safety is a good idea and yet a little voice in the back of my head tells me that at the same time it would be prudent to provide an “all else fails” backup “just in case”.
In 1961 a study conducted by the Michigan State police and Indiana University concluded that 400 people a year died trapped in their vehicles under water in North America. It has been 45 years since that story. The numbers remain about the same year after year.
Online, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, posts statistics it collects through its Fatality Analysis Reporting System or FARS website. Currently available online is data dating back to 1994. According to FARS, since 1994, an average of 300 people have died due to vehicle immersion drowning in this country every year. All tolled, in North America, every year for the past forty years, more than 300 people a year have perished trapped in their cars underwater.
It is apparent, that since the passenger compartment of the automobile was first enclosed, tens of thousands of people worldwide have died because they couldn’t escape their vehicle as it slipped beneath the surface of a lake, or river, or canal, or swimming pool or any body of water that will allow a vehicle to completely submerge. In many unfortunate situations, people have drowned in water that they could stand in. Florida holds the distinction of having more vehicle immersion deaths than any other state in the country. A recent news article featured the Delray Beach Fire Department’s Water Rescue Team. In the story, the reporter noted that since its inception in 1988, the team has responded to around 15 calls a year where a car is completely submerged in water with someone trapped inside. In 2006 the first person was pulled out alive. This stark detail shows that it is nearly impossible for emergency services to get to an accident of this nature in time to save a life. The responsibility to get out must lie with the occupants of the vehicle.
The sad part of all of this is that there is an abundance of available evidence that readily establishes that this is an extremely survivable accident most of the time. In higher speed accidents where a vehicle goes into the water, the vehicle bears the brunt of any impact in a way that isolates the occupants from serious injury. The water decelerates said vehicle instead of causing an abrupt stop. Occupants are often very fit to enact their own self rescue. As it turns out, this is a surprisingly simple procedure. Exit the vehicle and swim to safety. The one thing that is sure to prevent success is the inability to exit the vehicle.
Interestingly enough, in a surprising number of cases, vehicles enter the water at a relatively low speed. These accidents are sometimes the result of people making a wrong decision to enter a body of water, making a wrong turn, putting a vehicle in the wrong gear or other reasons that cause relatively benign, trauma free accidents.
Regardless of the methodology that puts a vehicle in the water, it is well established that a high number of these vehicle immersion accidents are survivable due to the number of people that are seen trying to escape entrapment by beating on the glass. These stories are often shared again and again by witnesses that are incapable of helping. Another survivability indicator is the percentage of bodies that are found in the very back part of the vehicle. This is relevant because in most cases an engine pushes the front end of the vehicle down which causes an air bubble to rise and settle toward the now elevated rear of the vehicle. People that can’t break out of the sinking car follow the air pocket until it is all gone or polluted to the point that it can no longer sustain life. Few people realize that fluids in the engine compartment that are lighter than water make their way into the passenger compartment through holes in the floorboard making the air unbreathable.
Despite the previous two explanations, the main reason that we know with absolute certainty, that in most cases this is a survivable accident is the fact that an estimated ten thousand vehicles a year end up in the water. Other than the approximately three hundred tragedies a year where the victims die, everyone else survives. It appears that the main difference between the people that live and those that die is an occupant’s ability to exit a vehicle.
Technology has lead to some painful consequences regarding vehicle immersion drowning. In all too many recent accidents, people have had time to call loved ones or rescue services on their cell phone. The calls have run the gamut from remorseful farewells from people that have conceded their fate knowing full well that no one can get there in time to hysterical pleading from people terrified of the fate that they realize awaits them. One interesting call from a KCBS radio reporter from San Francisco named Doug Sovern went unanswered for nearly twenty minutes. Doug, while sinking ever further into the water was put on hold. As water filled the passenger compartment, Doug listened to a recording. Doug’s call was to 911. In the end, he found a resource that allowed him to save himself http://www.escapetip.blogspot.com/ (scroll down to “Against all Odds”) He got out by breaking the glass.
Over the years, I’ve documented the deaths of infants to seniors, ordinary people to government officials. I’ve recorded anomalies like the family that stopped to look at the lake Susan Smith used to drown her children only to roll into the water themselves, become trapped, and die. Some stories touched me like the one about a young United States Marine named Ryan Zimmerman who was just going to be at home on leave for a few days over the holidays. This homecoming turned out to be his last http://www.escapetip.blogspot.com/ (scroll down to the story that features his name in the title.) A story of Sharon Stone’s near tragedy on the set of a movie, reminded me that no one is immune. My thoughts sometimes wander to the loss of a Doctor named Karen Gilhooly from Michigan. Karen was driving her daughter along with two of the child’s dearest friends to a dance performance. In the dark of night she made one wrong turn and slipped into the water. She was probably traveling a five miles an hour as she entered the water. Too late she realized something was wrong and tried to back out. We know this because her car was recovered with the transmission in reverse. Three families shattered because of a right turn when she needed a left. I can only imagine happenings inside the car as the realization set in that nothing could be done. Like so many accidents that I have chronicled, this was not the first vehicle submersion death at this location.
In the years that I have been doing this, I have seen a full spectrum of ideas to combat this problem. In Florida, tens of millions of dollars are being spent to erect barriers to stop this problem. Since the barriers have been going up, I still record stories of death in Florida. I’ve seen where a vehicle went over the barrier and ended up in the water anyway as well as vehicles that went into the water in locations where no barriers stand. Barriers are expensive, restrictive, ugly and present a false sense of security. There is no doubt that they will save lives but at what cost?
I’ve seen all kinds of ideas for new and improved systems to be added to vehicles to combat this issue. One system suggested huge airbags deploy to keep the vehicle afloat. A second system that I had to question was one that rolled all of the windows down if a vehicle was submerging. I had to wonder what a parent with several kids would do as water came rushing in and their kids were strapped through three rows of a minivan. I’ve seen automatic this, and automatic that and new and improved this and new and improved that and on, and on, and on….
Looking at many of these solutions, I am reminded of the space shuttle program. The best of intentions, billions of dollars in the world’s most sophisticated equipment, and a legacy marred by an “O” ring costing a few bucks. I’m reminded of the Crown Victoria. This car had a single weakness exposed do to the fact that when used for police work, cars are sometime rear ended at high speed causing violent crashes that in these cases ignited fuel. I’m reminded that sometimes ferry doors don’t seal causing them to flood and the boat sinks. I’m reminded that engines are known to fall of airplanes on occasion and even in modern warfare there are still friendly fire incidents. All this leads anyone like me with average intelligence to conclude that despite the very best of intentions, systems sometimes fail. In an automobile, if the failed system is a luxury like air conditioning, the result is an inconvenience. If a safety system fails, it could spell a trip to the hospital or morgue.
In the end, It has amazed me that a simple, practical, effective, inexpensive way to give people that are ready and able to break out of a vehicle, the means to do so has been so thoroughly disregarded. I’m confounded that a solution that could be immediately made available to start saving lives has been ignored while experts strain to perfect systems that would cost markedly more money.
The solution that I talk about is called the Escape Tip™. It is a tiny, unobtrusive addition to the male end or latch plate of a seatbelt assembly. In hundreds of tests, several performed under the watchful eye of television news coverage, the Escape Tip™ has not failed once. http://www.escapetip.com/ (click on the videos on the main page.) This straightforward idea conforms to a wisdom hard gained over the years that if you want something done right, do it yourself. Statistics prove beyond all doubt that this is especially applicable in vehicle immersion accidents. How many people truly want to put their faith 100% into an automatic system to save their lives without at least a solid back up that allows them to get themselves out if “all else fails”. Most drivers trust their steel belted radial tires but still keep a spare “just in case”. At a hotel, I always take an elevator when I want to get up to my room and down to the lobby and yet I really appreciate the fact that the stairs are there “just in case”. Airborne soldiers can go their whole jump career deploying only the main parachute but, they all wear the reserve “just in case” Who can deny that the KISS theory or Keep It Simple Stupid is based on years and years of trial and error? I think that the Escape Tip™ is a simple, effective, and inexpensive proposition for a problem that has proven a persistent killer for more than half a century. I think that pushing the envelope of auto safety is a good idea and yet a little voice in the back of my head tells me that at the same time it would be prudent to provide an “all else fails” backup “just in case”.
Escape tip, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Escape_tip&oldid=93770220 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Labels: drowning statistics
Friday, March 31, 2006
If it can happen to Sharon Stone...
If it can happen to actress Sharon Stone, it can happen to anyone.
It has been widely reported that Hollywood superstar Sharon Stone had a very close call while filming the movie Basic Instinct 2. During a dramatic underwater accident scene with co-star Stan Collymore, Ms. Stone was caught up when her strapped sandal got stuck in a floor grate that was specially prepared for the stunt while she was trying to escape from a vehicle. The Northern Echo gave this account:
"...Filming the underwater scene, with Stone and Collymore trapped in the car in a tank nearly proved fatal for the actress after the heel of her shoe got caught and trapped her in the sunken car. "It was frightening because the shoe that I had on was a sandal with a buckled ankle strap," she says.
"I knew that it was dangerous going in because the floor had a metal grating so that the water could come up through the floor... "
At the British website contactmusic.com This was written about the ordeal:
"SHARON STONE was so traumatised by a drowning sequence in BASIC INSTINCT 2 she is fitting a safety device to her family car to make sure she can escape if her motor ever ends up underwater. The actress was trapped underwater when her foot got caught in a car crash scene, leaving her fighting for breath. And even though she's a qualified deep sea diver, the incident made her realise that you can never be too careful. She says, "Quite frankly I'm getting one of those things that you put in your car that you drill into the side that if you do go under water it busts the window. I think every car should come standard with those things because how do you get out of your car if something like that happens." Stone admits she's still haunted by the memory of almost drowning. She adds, "It was so traumatic. I've had all sorts of nightmares. I'll be sitting having dinner with someone and realise I'm holding my breath. I'd wake up at night during the days when we were shooting the car scene thinking, 'I can't breathe.' It was so intense and so stressful to shoot that scene."
Not everyone realizes the tremendous physical condition that Sharon Stone keeps herself in or the fact that as a member of Mensa her considerable intelligence. The fact that this nearly fatal scenario had such a profound impact on her despite all the precautions taken when filming stunt scenes in big budget movies is testament to the fact that Ms. Stone fully "gets it" on the subject of vehicle submersion drowning. I am glad that Sharon Stone was not injured or killed because of this automotive danger.
My hope is that perhaps some good can come of this near tragedy. Sharon Stone's opinion that all vehicles should be equipped with a tool to facilitate exiting a vehicle in the case of entrapment is dead on and matches what we've been saying for years. Our problem has been getting the message out. Since Ms. Stone's opinion commands so much more attention than the average person's in the arena of public opinion, perhaps this problem will finally start to get some traction in the media. As the public finally learns of the tens of thousands of deaths related to this danger and of the practical, effective and relatively inexpensive solution that is the Escape Tip (www.escapetip.com), I hope that they will let their elected leaders know that it is time to make this safety modification. Sometimes, this is how these things get started. Perhaps, after being roundly ignored by the press for five years, the words of true Hollywood Royalty will be the spark that ignites the process that leads to hundreds of saved lives each year in this country and even more worldwide.
Stranger things have happened...
It has been widely reported that Hollywood superstar Sharon Stone had a very close call while filming the movie Basic Instinct 2. During a dramatic underwater accident scene with co-star Stan Collymore, Ms. Stone was caught up when her strapped sandal got stuck in a floor grate that was specially prepared for the stunt while she was trying to escape from a vehicle. The Northern Echo gave this account:
"...Filming the underwater scene, with Stone and Collymore trapped in the car in a tank nearly proved fatal for the actress after the heel of her shoe got caught and trapped her in the sunken car. "It was frightening because the shoe that I had on was a sandal with a buckled ankle strap," she says.
"I knew that it was dangerous going in because the floor had a metal grating so that the water could come up through the floor... "
At the British website contactmusic.com This was written about the ordeal:
"SHARON STONE was so traumatised by a drowning sequence in BASIC INSTINCT 2 she is fitting a safety device to her family car to make sure she can escape if her motor ever ends up underwater. The actress was trapped underwater when her foot got caught in a car crash scene, leaving her fighting for breath. And even though she's a qualified deep sea diver, the incident made her realise that you can never be too careful. She says, "Quite frankly I'm getting one of those things that you put in your car that you drill into the side that if you do go under water it busts the window. I think every car should come standard with those things because how do you get out of your car if something like that happens." Stone admits she's still haunted by the memory of almost drowning. She adds, "It was so traumatic. I've had all sorts of nightmares. I'll be sitting having dinner with someone and realise I'm holding my breath. I'd wake up at night during the days when we were shooting the car scene thinking, 'I can't breathe.' It was so intense and so stressful to shoot that scene."
Not everyone realizes the tremendous physical condition that Sharon Stone keeps herself in or the fact that as a member of Mensa her considerable intelligence. The fact that this nearly fatal scenario had such a profound impact on her despite all the precautions taken when filming stunt scenes in big budget movies is testament to the fact that Ms. Stone fully "gets it" on the subject of vehicle submersion drowning. I am glad that Sharon Stone was not injured or killed because of this automotive danger.
My hope is that perhaps some good can come of this near tragedy. Sharon Stone's opinion that all vehicles should be equipped with a tool to facilitate exiting a vehicle in the case of entrapment is dead on and matches what we've been saying for years. Our problem has been getting the message out. Since Ms. Stone's opinion commands so much more attention than the average person's in the arena of public opinion, perhaps this problem will finally start to get some traction in the media. As the public finally learns of the tens of thousands of deaths related to this danger and of the practical, effective and relatively inexpensive solution that is the Escape Tip (www.escapetip.com), I hope that they will let their elected leaders know that it is time to make this safety modification. Sometimes, this is how these things get started. Perhaps, after being roundly ignored by the press for five years, the words of true Hollywood Royalty will be the spark that ignites the process that leads to hundreds of saved lives each year in this country and even more worldwide.
Stranger things have happened...
Sharon Stone, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sharon_Stone&oldid=112668432 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Stan Collymore, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stan_Collymore&oldid=112630551 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Basic Instinct 2, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Basic_Instinct_2&oldid=111226455 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Labels: Sharon Stone, Stan Collymore
Monday, January 02, 2006
Against All Odds
Doug Sovern is a veteran news reporter for KCBS news radio in San Francisco. I've never met the man but I can tell you a few things about him;
*He has grit
*He doesn't quit
*He's lucky to be alive
On New Years Eve, less than a mile from home, Doug inadvertently drove his Subaru Outback into deep water and in the process, put his life in jeopardy. Like so many before him, Doug did not think the stream posed any danger. As soon as his wheels lost traction all of that changed. He immediately knew that his situation was already grave and getting worse by the minute.
By all accounts, from this moment on, Doug Sovern did everything possible to save his own life and in the end, it was his car that ultimately gave him the tool that he needed to do just that. If not for the design of this car and access to this tool, Doug would have most likely have been the last vehicle immersion drowning victim of 2005. Instead, he is a perfect example that everything possible can go wrong in a vehicle immersion situation and a life saved can still be the result if a person only has the means to exit the vehicle.
I'll recap Doug's story the best I can. If I miss any of the account, I'll clean it up in the days to come. Doug had just passed vehicles going the other direction when he rolled up on what appeared to be a shallow stream. Immediately upon entering the water, Doug's car sank deep in the water until the level outside was halfway up the window. Doug tried the doors but the electric locks were inoperative. He tried the electric windows but they too did not work. A sense of impending doom started to give Doug an uneasy feeling. He used his cell phone to dial 911.
Doug got the County's automated response system which immediately put him on hold and continually reminded him that due to the high volume of calls he'd have to wait. Doug had to realize that one way or another, the wait wouldn't, or rather couldn't be long. Once the water covered his head, it would come down to how long he could hold his breath. Doug tried once more to punch and kick all of the windows in the car to facilitate his escape. All, no avail.
Here, as Doug sat on 911 hold listening to the repeated message over and over, he sized up his position. In a cold stream a block from the fire station and about a mile from his house he came to the realization that unable to escape and with the water already at his chest, he was going to die. He simply could not accept that fact. To Doug, it seemed stupid that there was no accommodation to deal with this eventuality. Why was there not something readily available to get past the glass?
I told you at the beginning of this post a few things about Doug Sovern. He has grit, he won't quit, and at least on this day luck was with him. When the chips were stacked against him, Doug stopped questioning why and got back to the business at hand and dealt with how. His mind, doggedly pursued an answer to his dilemma, how was he going to escape this vehicle? As a professional news reporter, he'd always been used to thinking under pressure. As the water rose, it came to him.
Doug kept a flashlight large metal flashlight in one of the cars rear compartments. He scrambled to the rear of the vehicle only to find the compartment empty. Doug had taken the flashlight into his house during a black-out...and that is where he had left it.
Right here, as it seemed Doug had exhausted every option in a bid to save his own life, Luck came into play. The Subaru Outback that he was driving has the vehicle's jack stowed away inside the passenger compartment. It is located near the compartment where Doug had searched for his flashlight. At this point, it was under water, but, if he could get to it, it would be a tool hard enough to break the glass and he could escape his impending date with death.
I'm glad to report that his plan worked to perfection and Doug is still with us where he belongs. Doug is proof positive that when every system of a vehicle fails, A tool that can break glass, one that is easy to access, one that can't be misplaced, stolen or easily removed from a vehicle can be the difference between a harrowing experience and ending up another statistic.
Haven't we been saying this all along?
KCBS (AM), http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KCBS_%28AM%29&oldid=107858556 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Labels: Doug Sovern, reporter
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
3%
339. NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has posted their 2004 traffic fatality statistics on the FARS, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, a web based encyclopedia (http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/main.cfm ). In the year 2004, three hundred and thirty nine (339) people died due to vehicle immersion accidents.
This figure puts an ominous cap on the decade that this research tool has made these statistics available on the World Wide Web. In those ten years, over three thousand (3000) people have died, trapped in their cars under water. I can’t express how much this pains me. I hope beyond hope that soon, all people that occupy a vehicle will have an opportunity to break that vehicle’s side window glass giving them a chance to get to the surface and survive. In immersion fatality cases, this glass is often all that separates them from that chance. The ability to get out of a vehicle greatly increases a person’s odds of surviving. It is estimated that annually, over ten thousand (10,000) vehicles go into the water with almost everyone getting out alive. Some people are rescued by safety professionals or Good Samaritans but most are able to escape these accidents on their own. Ten thousand cars go into the water, and only three hundred and thirty nine (339) occupants can’t make it out alive. Roughly, this equates to three percent (3%).
I can’t believe that common sense and compassion won’t kick in soon and some accommodation to this issue will be reached. The Escape Tip makes sense for numerous reasons including its simplicity, efficacy, low price, and availability to all occupants in a vehicle. The Escape Tip simultaneously removes the occupant’s seatbelt and puts the glass break tool right in the palm of their hand. What could be smarter than that?
NHTSA, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NHTSA&oldid=16773082 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Labels: 3%
Monday, December 26, 2005
Ryan Zimmerman - Private First Class
Yesterday, I learned of a young man’s passing that has really given me pause. Ryan Zimmerman from Connecticut was involved in a vehicle submersion accident that took his life. While driving alone in his car, Ryan drove through a guard rail ending up in the water. When police arrived, they pulled Ryan from the vehicle that was about twelve feet below the surface. Attempts to resuscitate him failed. And thus, on Christmas Eve 2005, 18 year old Ryan Zimmerman was gone. He was pronounced dead at Stamford hospital.
If not for the rest of the story, I might have documented the details as I do and went on with my day. After all, this was Christmas and with kids of my own, I was sure to be busy. But Ryan Zimmerman’s story touched a nerve. By all accounts, he was one of the good guys. Friends and family alike are devastated by his loss. The stories I read on his accident give testimonies from old friends and new ones as well as family members. Each spoke of this amazing, friendly, dedicated and caring man that was certainly destined to make the world a better place.
Just his achievements mentioned in the news pieces are enough to convince me that we are all worse off with his loss. He was an honor student, a U.S. Marine, (one of only three in his 80 man platoon to be promoted to private first class) and he was his platoon’s leader to boot. In each case the people around him loved and respected him.
This fine young man was a credit to himself, his parents whom obviously did a superb job raising him and the United States Marine Corp for recognizing what they had in young Ryan Zimmerman. I’m humbled writing this and troubled that my efforts to bring the Escape Tip safety tool were not in time to help young Ryan. Tomorrow is another day. I will begin my efforts anew with my resolve hardened. Thank you Private First Class Ryan Zimmerman. Although I never met you, I know I’ll never forget you. As for today, I’m off to hug my kids, my wife, and my friends and to remind them that I love them. I owe it to Ryan’s mother Shawn Zimmerman.
United States Marine Corps, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Marine_Corps&oldid=112721176 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Stamford, Connecticut, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stamford%2C_Connecticut&oldid=112589414 (last visited March 5, 2007).
Labels: Marine, Ryan Zimmerman, USMC
Saturday, May 14, 2005
A good place to start.
I think the most pressing thing that I'd like to do to start this off is to thank a few people that have made it possible for me to work towards our common goal of making cars just a little safer. My Family has been great. This process has been time consuming to say the least. Time that I spend researching information and contacting appropriate people and agencies takes me away from them. They have been great. Thanks to my friends Ed and Kathy and Ed's Dad. Because of them, I have the resources necessary to push on day after day. Without them, this would not be possible. Working toward change is slow and expensive. Their belief that we can make a difference has made the difference. My friend Daren comes through when it really counts. He helps the effort with well thought out strategy and advice and he is one of the smartest people that I know. This is helpful in a pinch. Ed's Mom GS has been the voice of reason and moderation. The windmills of la Mancha are safe many times over because of her wisdom. Janette Fennell of Kid's and Cars www.kidsandcars.org who has mentored and encouraged me has been an inspiration and I appreciate her graciousness and knowledge. Craig and Lina bring a high level of professionalism with their guidance and it is helpful. Kent Smith Computer Graphics conceived our logo and artwork and it is all great. Finally, I'd like to thank my friend Doug Souther. He invented the first and best embodiment of the Escape Tip. He chose me to help carry this cause to fruition. He is instrumental in the research and vision that continues to push us along and his creative intellect continually uncovers new trails for us to blaze.
Mission
Our Mission is to save lives with the adoption of standardized life saving products throughout the automotive industry.
